The Bakers' Fiasco: Part 2
by Waterlilies
Summary: Sequel to “The Bakers’ Fiasco.” - Complete. She used her index finger to wipe away some of the frosting from Heero's face, "Remind me to thank Chip one day when he's older." He eyeballed the not-so-innocent monster from the corner of his eye.
1. Wedding Bells

Here's the sequel to "The Bakers' Fiasco." Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Anyhow, enjoy chapter one!

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**Wedding Bells**

The crowd in the pews rose as the bride appeared before the oak doors. A string quartet played the traditional bridal march in the background. Her bouquet consisted of soft white roses that were adorned with white satin ribbons at the stems. As for her gown it was simple and the pearl white silk gently brushed against the floor. Her veil gently covered the front of her face and it hung down to her shoulders.

"Here goes nothing." She took the first step forward down the rose-petal strewn aisle. She walked by herself as the onlookers looked on as she walked closer to the alter, and there she saw her future husband, standing in his black tuxedo with his hair neatly braided. She gave him a soft smile and softly whispered to him, "I can't believe today it's finally happening. It seemed to take ages."

"Like a year to be exact."

The reverend then began the ceremony, "Who gives this woman to this man?"

A woman dressed in white happily responded, "I do."

The bride then looked to her mother and whispered out, "Thank you." And with that, Duo lifted her veil, being careful not to ruin her hair that was curled around her shoulders. At that moment, he saw his future through her eyes.

---Flashback---

"Where's the box? Oh no, where did I put it? Calm yourself down, Duo, you know you bought the engagement ring." He searched himself and couldn't find the elusive box.

"What are you up to now? It looks like you lost something very important." He resumed his work on a batch of vanilla cupcakes.

"As if you knew, Wufei...why should I tell you? You traitor!!! You changed my lovely sign that was hanging on the outside of this bakery to Nataku's and Maxwell's Bakery!! I mean it's still there for these six months."

"I can read you know." He picked up a pastry bag filled with chocolate frosting. "I think you might want to try that coat rack of yours. It looks like something is hanging from a hook."

Duo complied and headed over to his usual coat rack of where his chef's hat was hanging along with his apron that was stained from previous chocolate wars and strawberry jam fights. He noticed that a white jewelry bag was hanging on the far left metal hook. He peeped in and noticed that a box was in there. "Please let it be here...please let it be here." He slowly took the box out and opened the soft leathery case.

Wufei slowly counted down to himself and smirked, "In three, two, one..."

"AAAHHHH!!!!"

"What's the matter, Maxwell?" He looked up from his masterpieces.

"The ring!!! That jeweler ripped me off!!!"

"You sure about that," he lifted an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Are you instigating something?"

"Maybe." He then lifted something out of his cupboard, "Looking for this black box?"

"Give me that!!!"

"My...my...don't be so grabby." He held the box precociously in his right hand over a large bowl of melted chocolate.

"Don't you dare throw that box in that bowl." Duo's eyes widened with slight horror if he found his ring in melted chocolate. He needed to find a plan that would distract Wufei's attention from the ring. Right then a light bulb in his head went on. "Got it." He snapped his fingers and was about to grab a small dusting of flour.

"Now don't you even dare think about it. I have your ring held hostage right here."

"Why you? I can't stand playing this standoff between you and me right now. I got to be somewhere important right now." He was walking closer to Wufei, but at a slow steady pace. Another idea just popped into his head and out came the words, "Hey Sally! I'm glad that you could come today."

Wufei was then distracted as Duo lunged toward his mad partner, knocking the two off their feet. He watched in horror as Wufei let the box out of his hand and it fell in slow motion towards its chocolately demise. "NOOOO!" He quickly got up from the newly cleaned floor and made a dive on the counter and grabbed the bowl. But then he felt a tug at his left ankle and he too fell to the floor again.

A rain of chocolate sauce poured on the two bakers.

"AHHH! Look at this mess." Wufei was covered from head to toe in the sticky sweet substance. He nearly fell back onto the floor after trying to regain his balance.

"It serves you right for messing with the one and only Shinigami! I'm leaving right now." He quickly got up and sidestepped the chocolate spill. With that he grabbed the black box and grabbed one of Wufei's cupcakes that he was working on, along with a small pink box.

"Hey, you need to pay for that cupcake! It's not free...you know!" He called after his renegade partner, but in the distance, he heard the clanging of the bells from the front door of bakery. "It figures for him to leave."

Duo made his way to Sugar Lane and within fifteen minutes, he saw Hilde's apartment in full sight. He looked at his watch, which was smudged with chocolate sauce. "Oh no, she'll be home any minute." He then started to run and in less than a minute, he traversed the front steps and sneaked into her apartment with a key of hers that she had given to him a couple of months earlier. It just seemed like yesterday that he was baking powdered doughnuts for his loved one.

He began to fidget with the pink box and placed Wufei's cupcake into it. "Something is missing here. Hmm." He went over to her kitchen to see if she had any of the sugar letters used for decorating cakes. "Ah, here they are," he pulled a small package of the yellow-coated letters. "Lets see, I need two m's, one a, two r's, one 'y,' and one 'e.' He fumbled with the packaging, since the letters were hard to separate from their cardboard container. He then held the sugar-coated letters in his hand and went back to a small table he had placed the cupcake on. He systematically placed the letters in a bowed out arc at the top of the cupcake, "marry me." And right then, he grabbed the black leathery box out of his pocket and placed a ring in a small holder, and placed it in the center of the cupcake. "Perfect." He then placed it into the pink box and not a moment too soon.

A sound came from the front door.

"Hey Duo, what brings you here? You normally don't get off of work until eight, right?" She looked at him in an odd way, noticing that his shirt was stained with chocolate sauce. "I see you got into another chocolate fight with your crazy partner."

"Yeah I won. And besides, it can't stop me from missing our anniversary."

"You remembered."

"And how could I forget, after you made me bake all those powdered doughnuts for you." He gave her a kiss.

"Oh, Duo...I knew I could count on you." She noticed that he was holding something behind his back. "Are you hiding something from me, Maxwell?"

"Who? Me? Couldn't be?"

"I know your hiding something." She tried prying the object from his hands.

"Okay, I give up. Well, HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!" He gave the box to her and waited for her reaction. He looked towards his girlfriend and noticed that tears were forming in her eyes.

"Oh, Duo...it's lovely." She gingerly picked up a single solitaire diamond ring that was set in a silver slim band.

He then got down on one knee, and before he could say anything.

"Yes, I will marry you, Duo Maxwell."

"You will." His violet eyes lighted up and he then slipped the ring on her ring finger. He held her in his arms and kissed her again.

"I guess we should start planning for our wedding. Any people do you want to have included in the ceremony."

"I got a few." He smiled back to his fiancé.

A few weeks later, he called the embassy to see if Relena and Heero could stop by. After the bakery fiasco with Wufei, he needed to find a way to make up for all the trouble his partner and him caused for the two. Within twenty minutes, a black car pulled up at the street and with that both, Relena and Heero stepped out of the vehicle.

"I wonder what he wants with us now?" whispered Relena.

"I don't know." Heero then concealed a small gun in his back pocket just in case he needed it.

Relena then looked up at the sign, "Wasn't this called Shinigami's and Chang's Bakery before? It's now called Nataku's and Maxwell's Bakery."

Heero shrugged at her statement.

"Hi there, I'm glad that the two of you could come." He was perky as ever with a small grin on his face.

The two stood questioningly in front of Duo.

Relena then spoke, "Thank you for your wonderful doughnuts that you have been sending over to the embassy. The staff enjoys their sugar morning rush."

"That's terrific, I'm glad I can be of service." He remembered that six months ago he gave out a free six months supply of doughnuts for the embassy to make up for the fiasco at the bakery. "I know we didn't get off with the right foot the last time we were all here. Sorry if I tried to throw flour at you, Princess."

"No problem, Duo. I had a fun time actually. It was my first real food fight."

He cleared his throat and changed the subject, "Anyhow, would you two be interested in attending my wedding?" He looked at the two, who both showed a confused look on their faces.

Heero then spoke up, "Will there be a food fight involved? Because if there is, I'm refusing."

"Well, I'm not planning on having one," he grinned

The two then agreed to his request (a little apprehensively at first).

"You can come out Hilde, here are some people that I would like you to meet."

---End of flashback---

"May I have the rings, please?"

At that command, Heero produced the rings and gave them to the reverend. Alongside him, stood Quatre, who was on a constant look out for flour attacks on himself. Before the ceremony, he searched the groom's tuxedo to see if he had any special tricks up his sleeves, "I'm warning you, if you make one quick move or create a bakery war in this church, I know who I'm going to blame it on."

"Easy now, Quatre. I'm clean." To reassure Quatre, he emptied out his pockets and there was nothing there of any bakery related items.

"Hilde Schebeiker, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"Duo Maxwell, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"I now pronounce husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride." With that, he took Hilde into his arms and gave her a long kiss. "And now may I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Duo Maxwell." With that, the audience rose from their seats and applauded the newly wedded couple, along with Wufei and Sally.

The groom and the bride began to make their way down the aisle and passed by his baking partner, Duo then whispered into Hilde's ear, "I hope you're right about bringing him to the reception. If he makes one false move and starts a bakery war right in the reception hall, I'm heading straight for my flour bazooka that I stashed under our table."

"Duo!" She softly scolded at him.

The couple then exited the church along with the rest of the guests, where they were greeted with a shower of rice and rose petals from friends and family that had left ahead of them. At the end of the procession, Relena emerged from the church alongside Heero, but the two still concealed their little secret from the rest of the group.

Before Duo entered the white limousine, he made one remark, "It's time to party!! The Mrs. And I will see everyone there!!" He gave a wink to the crowd and hopped into the limo.

Two hours later, most of the guests came for the reception. It was held at a rented out dance hall. The MC cleared his throat and shouted into the cordless microphone, "Here comes, Mr. and Mrs. Duo Maxwell." The two came running in after a change of clothes. Duo was sporting a white long sleeved shirt with a black vest, while Hilde slipped into a white summer dress. The couple took their seats at an elongated table that faced their guests.

For the rest of the evening, the guests enjoyed a small meal that consisted of a buffet that included a wide range of meals from roasted chicken to steamed fish. With the night half gone, a guest made his way up to the podium.

"Can I have your attention please?"

All eyes focused on him.

"Where should I begin....um lets see here. Well, Duo... you finally took the plunge. After working with you for just three years, it has been fun with all of our nonsense going on in the kitchen...you take care of her."

"I will, Wufei," he called back to the podium.

"In honor of your marriage, I know you two had planned out a cake at our bakery and after watching the two of you try out various cake fillings, I took upon the liberty of paying for the bill."

Duo walked over to his non-insane partner and thanked him. "You're the best."

Wufei then saw Hilde make her way to him and heard her say, "Thank you, Wufei." He was left speechless for a minute.

After that, a couple of more well-wishing speeches were made and the two began their first dance of the night. The two danced in the center of the dance floor with a blue strobe light that encircled the two. Hilde gently laid her head on Duo's shoulders and the two slowly glided across the dance floor. Once their song was up, they invited the rest of their guests to dance.

The couple then went around to personally greet their guests and Duo eyed one in particular, who was cautiously looking around to see if anything was out of the ordinary. He quickly tapped the guest in question on the right shoulder.

"AAHHH!!" The blonde jumped three inches from his original spot.

"I never have seen you so nervous like this Quatre."

"You know I scare easily."

"I hope you're having a good time."

"I am...but you better be careful you never know what happens. Expect the unexpected." He looked curiously about the room.

"Quatre just chill for a minute. You've been working way too much for her. R-E-L-A-X."

"I will and congratulations."

Duo nodded, "Oh, look at the time...it's time to cut the cake." He quickly made his way back to front of the dance hall. "Here I am"

"You ready, Duo."

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" The two grabbed hold the knife and slid it into the soft velvety cake. They made another incision and within seconds, a piece of white chocolate cake landed on their plate.

"I'm going to enjoy this very much." Duo grabbed a handful of cake with a huge pile of frosting.

"Don't you dare!!" She shook her head side to side, trying to avoid the inevitable.

"Here it comes!" He smothered the cake near her mouth and added a bit of white frosting on her nose.

"You asked for it." Hilde did the same for Duo, while the crowd laughed at their funny antics. But in the end, the two kissed and cleaned the frosting off from each other's faces with licks and kisses.

It was nearly midnight before the traditional throwing of the bouquet and garter finally occurred. All the ladies gathered near Hilde, as they waited for her to throw her bouquet. She cautiously eyed the female crowd to see if everyone was accounted for, but she didn't see one of her bridesmaids there. She then went over to the MC and had him hand over the microphone, "Will a Relena Peacecraft please come forward?"

In moments, Quatre brought the missing ambassador to the crowd. "Here she is!!"

At first, she tried to run back to her table, but Heero brought her back up to the dance floor. "I'm going to get back at you for this," and watched him side step the group of women.

"Here I go!" She tossed the bouquet and a swarm of hands then went up to try to catch it. Before anyone knew it, it landed in Relena's hands. She was left in shock and looked at Hilde, in which she was reaffirmed with a wink.

The floor was then cleared for the throwing of the garter. A chair was set in the middle for the couple and with that, Duo ordered all the bachelors out in the crowd to come up and see who would be married next. Quatre and Heero walked up to a corner where they would be sure that they wouldn't get the object. Hilde quietly sat in the velvet chair as Duo made his way to get the blue garter. "Got it!"

"About time," she quipped back.

"Three, two, one!" There was a mad jump in the air for the elusive garter, as bachelors jumped over one another to catch the fabric. Heero and Quatre were off to the sides staring at the group in front of them. Right when they were leaving back to their tables, Heero felt something on his shoulder. Anyhow, Duo noticed the fabric clinging to Heero's tuxedo. "We have a winner!" he called into the mic. Heero looked sideways of him and noticed that all eyes were focused on him. "Come on Heero, get up there." Quatre lead his friend up to the front, where Relena was already standing, since Hilde was holding her in place.

Duo then boomed into the microphone, "May I present you the future Mr. and Mrs. Heero Yuy!"

Relena and Heero somewhat turned a little red as the crowds applauded the two. Could this be a sign? They both pondered on that thought for a long time.

"Thank you for coming and good night! Well actually, it's good morning! " With that, the guests left the dance hall into the early hours of the summer morning. Hilde and Duo were left to themselves, "I guess it's time to start our honeymoon."

"I guess so."

"And now on to Honolulu."

TBC

And now the fun really starts!!! Stay tune...


	2. Like Father Like Son

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters.

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Like Father Like Son

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Two years and four months later... 

"Duo, did you pack Chip's teddy bear somewhere? I can't seem to find it." Hilde rummaged through her child's diaper bag and toy bag.

He called from the upper floor of their new home, "I think it might still be in the truck...in one of the smaller boxes." At that moment, he was focusing his energy on setting up Chip's room with the crib decorated in blue, even though he insisted of having cakes and cookies decorate the crib. "Let see this screw goes into this hole," he looked at the manual, "Ah-hah, there we go."

Hilde ventured out with Chip in her hands and looked through the truck to find his missing friend. She looked through the last row of boxes and found his other belongings. "Let's see if we can find Chocolate here...shh now...Mommy's going to find him." The boy quieted down and before long, she produced the dark brown teddy bear. She saw her child's face light up when she brought his friend towards him. "Okay now, let's see what's daddy is doing." She carried him back to the house and went up to the second floor. "So how's it going?"

"Just fine," he was setting the last post into the crib. "There." He wiped a little sweat off his forehead, "And how's my little boy doing today?" He tickled him on the stomach and saw the boy giggled. His violet eyes looked up towards his daddy and he opened his mouth, "Cho-c---ohh-la-te."

Two their amazement, he heard his first multiple syllable word. Hilde picked him up and hugged him. "Well, you have him saying bakery terms before he can even say Mama or Dada."

He grinned in response, "Hey what can I say, we have a winner for a future baker in this house...let the line continue!"

"We'll just take it one step at a time." She noticed that her son was pointing his hand towards Chocolate again.

Duo quickly picked up the teddy and handed him the toy. "There ya go buddy, sleep tight now and don't let the bed bugs bite."

The boy closed his violet eyes and held his dear friend in his small grip. Hilde then placed their child in the crib and turned the baby monitor on.

Duo whispered into her ear, "I think we should have another one."

"Uh no, not yet." She waved her finger at him, "Don't want to go through that pain again...nearly twenty hours of labor."

"He's going to feel lonesome, if he doesn't have a sibling to play with." He gave her a puppy-eyed look.

"Not that now...I don't want to see that look," she closed her eyes and heard a whimpering coming from her husband. "What am I ever going to do with you?" She headed out of the room, "I'll think about it."

_I'll think about it...that's it?_ His jaw dropped.

* * *

"Hey Wu-man, what's cooking in here?" He cradled Chip in his arms while pulling in the baby's high chair. 

"Oh nothing...and who do we have here?" He looked over to the bubbly baby. "He's grown since the last time I saw him."

"Yup, he's a good eater." He placed Chip into the baby's chair in the far off corner of his work area away from steaming pots of chocolate and other gooey sugary substances. "Now be good. You get to see your pop working hard in the kitchen." He went over to his bag and pulled out a miniature chef's hat. "I think you might need this," and placed it on his son's head. "Picture perfect." He even went to the toy bag and pulled out a small digital camera to capture the Kodak moment. "Hilde will love this pic."

"We need to bake three dozen cupcakes for a birthday party. The order's going to be picked up at four." Wufei called out from his batch of batter.

"On it." He went around the corner and grabbed the extra large steel bowl along with the dry ingredients. "Okay, this what we do first...we mix the dry goods together and then we'll add the eggs." Chip watched anxiously to see his father mixing the batter with little effort. He banged his hands on the table of his high chair and made oooohs each time he saw his dad do a funny trick with the batter. "Well it looks like you want to get into the fun a little too. Your mother will give me an earful if she caught you dirty with chocolate stains all over you." He looked around his workbench to see if he had any small bowls already lying out, which he did and filled it with a small portion of chocolate sauce. "Now have fun."

The boy looked down at the chocolate sauce and placed his finger in it. "Choco----late."

"Right." He went back to work and dumped the batter evenly into the cupcake tin, while keeping a watchful eye on his son. He then looked over to the clock and timed himself on when to take out the hot tins. He noticed that Wufei was awfully quiet for the past twenty minutes, since he walked in to begin his shift. _I wonder where he ran off to now._ He peeked through the kitchen door and noticed that the morning's donuts and bagels were already laid out in the display cases.

"Well it looks like Wufei ran out somewhere," he smirked to his son and noticed that his partner's workbench had a tray of cooling cupcakes.

Chip peeked over his father's shoulders, and noticed something moving in the background. "Da---ddy." He grabbed onto his father's braid that was tucked under the chef's hat.

"What did you do that for?" He noticed that his son was pointing to something behind him. "Uh oh." He quickly turned around and noticed that round two of the bakery war was going to start again. "Don't you think about it!!!" He tried to grab his small pastry bag of chocolate sauce, but was too late.

"Hah, got you." A spray of chocolate sauce ran over Duo's newly cleaned apron. "Round two...winner Wufei hehe."

Duo looked over to see his son was still clean from Wufei's antics. "This is what happens when you work with him."

Wufei walked over to Chip, "Your father was the one that actually started this whole thing." He patted the kid on the head, in which Chip grimaced. He began to finger through his small bowl and unexpectedly launched the chocolate sauce onto Wufei's face.

A loud laugh escaped from Duo's mouth as he saw his son throwing chocolate sauce at Wufei. "I think you should reconsider the final decision about round two's ending...it's more like this...round two draw." Right then, the timer went off on his desk and he went over to his oven to pull the two trays of cupcakes out.

"Like father like son...it figures." He wiped the small splotches of chocolate off his face and saw the baby giggle.

"That's my boy," he beamed while balancing the two trays in his hands with gloves. The front door to the their bakery jingled. "Well it looks like we have our first customer for the day." He grabbed his son and went out to the front area.

"And how are my boys doing?" Hilde looked at the two and her smile quickly faded. "Maxwell!!! What have you been doing in the kitchen?" She tapped her foot on the floor.

"Um...Wufei started it this time, but Chip warned me ahead of time. See," he held their son up to her, "he's still clean...no chocolate sauce on him."

"I see." She grabbed Chip from him.

"Ma---ma."

"He just said 'Mama,'" she squealed in delight.

Phew, I've been saved again...sweat drops lined his forehead.

"And Duo, you're not off the hook yet."

"Yes, dear," he sulked back to the door and worked on his cupcakes, while Hilde took their son.

* * *

Treize poured over the photographs that Une had been taking of Relena over the past two years. "Did you notice something, Lady?" 

"What," she looked up from possible articles to put in their daily newspaper.

"How Relena has been hiding her left hand in all of these pictures..." That thought just came to him after analyzing twenty or so pictures.

"Interesting...you have my attention so far." She was following his train of thought, "Are you saying that she could possibly be engaged to someone?"

"Exactly...you're one step ahead of me."

"But who could it possibly be?" She looked through a mini pile of pictures of the men closet in Relena's life and drew up two possible suspects. "Do you think it could be Heero Yuy or Quatre Winner?"

Logics pointed to Quatre, but there was something about Heero that caught his attention. "I'm not too sure, but I'm leaning towards Heero right now. Have our photographers watch him closely, but not too close...we don't want them to get traumatized by him."

"Very well then. I'll have our men setup their cameras." She went back to her desk and dialed up several phone numbers. _I better take my own pictures just in case these don't work out._

"What are you thinking?" He saw a quizzical look on her face.

"Oh nothing, just nothing." She looked down on the page layout for tomorrow's paper.

TBC

How will Duo's and Hilde's bundle of joy be linked to Heero and Relena? Until next time, I hope you all have a Happy New Year!


	3. Chip's Great Discovery

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any its characters. 

Chip's Great Discovery

Riley peeked out the window just for a brief moment and believed she saw someone hid behind one of the large trees. "Aidan, did we hire new security for the embassy?"

"Check with Heero on that one...I'm just a runner for everyone else around here." He pounded on the stapler in hopes of getting out the last jammed staple from the holder. 

"Well all right then." Relena's secretary dialed Heero's phone line and asked him the pertinent question, "Heero, did you hire new security for the embassy? If you did, there's one behind a tree out in the front."

Heero just listened in and peeked out through his window, "Hn." He then hung up on her.

"Heero?" she called onto the line. "Figures." She placed the phone back into its receiver. "I think Relena should have those vid screens hooked up just right about now." 

Aidan called from the opposite room, "So he hanged up on you?" 

"That's right." She filed some files into folders. "Happy?"

"Sure am."

"You have a twisted sense of humor."

"Geesh...I think I forgot to laugh. Now you know why I don't want to do runs for Heero..." He felt a tap on his shoulder and his face drained its color.

"And what were you saying?" 

"Hello Mr. Yuy," he made a gulp noise down his throat. 

"I need you to make copies of these files...they're the new security features." He tossed the stack on the Xerox machine and walked out onto the grounds.

"You got it, boss. Hey Riley, could you toss me a new stapler, mine just broke." In seconds, she sent the metallic apparatus towards him with a hard toss and he felt it crash into his chest. It knocked the wind out of him, "Gee, thanks," he felt a wheeze coming on.

Outside, Heero spotted the new intruder and saw him take a couple pictures overlooking in the direction of Relena's office. He snuck up on the poor soul, "May I help you?"

"Heh...I'm just admiring the rose bushes that's all." The photographer gave him a white lie.

"Unlikely." He pulled the camera off the man's neck and opened the film compartment. "Whatever you're doing, get out. Private property." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out something, but before he pulled forward, he saw the photographer run for his life, leaving his camera behind. All Heero pulled out was just his beeper signaling that Relena was leaving with Quatre for a lunch break. He picked up the camera and noticed it had the initials T.K. on it. "It's him again." 

Une looked from her parking spot and noticed that photographer 1 had failed miserably, but she managed to take snapshots of Heero. He doesn't seem the type to propose to the ambassador...I don't know what Treize sees in him. Right then her radio picked up something about Relena and Quatre being at a local restaurant. Just perfect, and smiled to herself. She set her gear selector into the drive mode and rode off to the restaurant. In minutes she spotted the pair sitting in the back corner, sipping off glasses of water. She took her digital camera and honed in on the shot. Well we have some sort of hand holding...very interesting Ms. Relena. She remained there for some time and tried to focus in on Relena's left hands...at one point, she noticed the ambassador placing her hands on the table, but she failed to zoom in on the shot. Blast that girl, I almost had it. She decided to move closer to the likely couple and tried to listen in on their conversation. 

"So when are you ever going to be married?" He asked at point blank range.

Relena choked, "Excuse me," she concealed the small ring on her hand. "I don't think I'll marry yet."

"Oh come on, I see that you drool over him." He kept badgering the situation.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She nibbled on some salad sprinkled with a light ranch dressing.

"You two have been acting strangely lately...come to think of it...for these past two years and even at your birthday party." He rubbed the edge of his chin.

"It's strictly business...I swear." She continued to nibble on her salad and tried to preoccupy herself with another subject.

"That's what they all say. Trowa and I are running bets that you two will be hitched some time soon." A smile played on his face.

Her face flushed slightly, "Well, you two are mistaken then." She continued to conceal the ring Heero had given her...she didn't want the secret to be out and have the papers around town to go on a feeding frenzy. "Well look at the time, lunch break is almost over." She pulled out her wallet and paid for the bill. "Shall we leave?" 

"All right then, but mark my words, I believe I'm right." He grabbed Relena's money and gave it back to her. "Lunch is on me."

"But?" She carefully held her black leather wallet on the palm side of her left hand.

"No buts." The two then left the restaurant and headed back to the embassy.

Une got up from her spot and crossed Quatre off her list...the only name left was Heero's. Could it possibly be him? She returned to Treize's office, but kept the information to herself and waited for the right move to reveal everything. Right now, she wanted to play this game of cat and mouse to see how the drama plays out.

"You were out for awhile." His eyes lighted up with some suspicion.

"Yes, I was...just following a scoop that's all."

"And how did it go?" He was curious to find out what she was really doing.

"Fine," she smiled. "Nothing really to publish yet. Just FYI, photographer 1 failed to produce any pictures. Heero got to him."

"Acknowledged," he didn't look up from his stack of files.

"But there's one problem, the other photographers are refusing to sign up for the reconnaissance run of taking the pictures especially on Heero...if it's Quatre or Relena they'll do it anytime as long as Heero's not around." 

"Understood." He scribbled something onto his yellow legal pad, "Well just have to do it the old fashion way, which is doing it ourselves."

"I'm already on it."

"Excellent...I knew I could count on you."

-

The weekend finally rolled over and the staff members left their posts for their mini vacation of just two days. Relena still went over a couple of files that she needed to work on, but decided she needed a small break. "Maybe Nataku's and Maxwell's Bakery is open right about now," she was thinking about getting a fresh espresso since her coffee machine finally broke down from over usage. 

She decided to drive into the small town and parked her silver car out in front of the small bakery. She noticed that a flash came from a bush, but shrugged it off and walked into the bright room. "Hello there, Duo."

"What brings the Princess on a Saturday morning?" His eyes glowed from another win of defeating Wufei with the help from Chip.

"I would like a grande espresso, please." Her eyes showed a lack of sleep within the past few days. 

"Ah, a need for a caffeine I see."

"That's right, my machine broke earlier this week. I can't stay away from caffeine too long...I don't know how could I survive through work."

"Well I'm right on it then." He went over to their coffee maker and started making the espresso.

"Great," she smiled to him and noticed a small toddler crawling around. "Is that Chip?"

"Sure is," the proud papa handed her the espresso and she was about to pay for it, "No no, it's on me." He didn't touch the money that she held in her hands.

Instead, she went over to the tip jar and placed the money there. "He's so big now...the last time I saw him was when he was born."

"Yup."

"They grow up so fast," she took a sip of the hot liquid. The boy started to crawl towards her and she placed her beverage on a high countertop. "And how are you today?" She picked him up and touched him on the nose. "Is he saying any words lately?"

"Let's see it seems like chocolate is his most popular word followed by mama and dada, but it seems like he's been mimicking words as of lately. It must be from my job." He chuckled out loud. 

Relena continued to play with the child for awhile until another customer came walking in. 

"Hello there, Heero. Let me guess, your usual I assume." Duo was already packing a raisin bagel with cream cheese into a bag along with a tall cup of regular coffee.

Heero stood in his tracks as he saw Relena in the bakery on a Saturday morning. "What are you doing here?"

"Getting some coffee, that's all." She was shocked to see him there too. 

Chip started to blurt another word out, "Hee-ro," and looked to the Japanese bodyguard. He saw Heero smiling back for a brief moment, but he turned his attention back to Relena. He started fidgeting with something on her hand, "Oh." 

Relena noticed it too and her eyes peered down to the little renegade. She tried to gently pull her hand back, but the boy had a tight hold on the small diamond. "Chip, can you give me my finger back?"

The boy nodded a playful no response and Duo went over to see what his mischievous son was up to now. "Come on Chip...let Relena's finger go...I'll give you some chocolate to play with." He started to pry at his son's tiny hands and noticed something shiny underneath the fingers. He blinked a couple of times and was shocked, "Is that an engage-"

Heero quickly covered the baker's mouth up, "Shhh...there's some reporters out there taking pictures."

"What?" Relena looked out of the window and saw some more flashes from a different spot.

Duo broke free from Heero's grasp, "So who's the lucky man?" 

"Never mind," Heero cut him off.

"Ah...I think I might know who it is," and eyed the person standing next to him. "Well congrats, buddy." 

"One word and you wish you were never here," he scowled.

"No need to be defensive." He picked up Chip from the counter and held him in his arms. "If it weren't for Chip to find the rock...this could have been a major secret."

"It would have been a major secret...maybe I should go cut off his mini braid." A glare came from his eyes.

"No one lays a hand on my boy." Duo then got on the defensive with a finger pointing towards the monotone bodyguard.

"Would you two stop it!" interjected Relena. "I think we have bigger problems right now." 

The two turned their attention away from their argument and directed their heads to where she was staring. Wufei was fully armed in his arsenal of pastry bags along with two large bags of flour attached to his back. "Time for some payback! And look we have customers right here...they can be our witnesses to the final war!"

"Now Wu-man think what you're going to do...not a good time right now." Duo was backing towards the counter to drop his son in a safe corner, where hopefully no icing or flour or whatever other bakery substance would get him. And he then looked over towards Heero and Relena, "I think you two should find some cover now. This could get messy."

Heero pulled Relena off to the side, "Here we go again."

In seconds, the two bakers engaged in a full frontal assault of splattering flour and chocolate sauce at each other. Outside, onlookers came to stare through the windows to see this new battle and they all knew that Nataku's and Maxwell's Bakery was known for it's sporadic bakery battles that everyone enjoyed to see. 

Duo reached into his back pocket and noticed he had just used his last pastry bag, "Not now."

"It looks like you're out of ammo," Wufei smirked and released the strawberry jam from one of his pastry bags. "Haha." 

"I've been hit." Duo decided to put on some drama for the crowd.

Heero looked up from the counter and noticed Wufei was still preoccupied with Duo, "Come on, let's get going." He pulled Relena off the ground and was about to lead her to the back door.

"And where do you think you're going?" Wufei rearmed himself with icing bags and fired on the two with chocolate and flour.

"This is so not my day to be here," called out Relena from her floury demise, while Heero got the chocolate brunt. He then quickly grabbed a small pastry bag off the floor and struck the insane baker. A cheer from the crowd outside was heard. 

"You can say that again." He tried to get up from the floor, but slipped on the chocolate.

Relena grabbed him and her hands began to become cakey. "This is just great," she tried to rub off the mixture of chocolate and flour from her hands. 

"Never mind that let's just get out of here." He examined the situation and figured that the building was now surrounded with spectators and reporters...possibly "T.K." or his female subordinate. "Let's just make a run towards the front."

"Whatever you say...my car's just right here."

"Perfect." 

"What about Chip?" Relena looked towards the child, who still hid under the countertop.

"I'll take care of him," Duo got up from his spot and walked over towards his son. "You two better shake on it...otherwise something could go wrong." He looked out the windows and saw the madness of reporters already swarming, trying to catch a glimpse of the two.

The two quickly ran out into the crowd, but didn't dare to stop for pictures. A blitzkrieg of lights went off as everyone saw their ambassador and bodyguard leave the scene. 

"Let's just hope no one got a picture of the ring."

Heero took her keys and jumped into the driver's seat, but remained quiet during the ride. Yeah...hopefully. 

TBC

Will the secret be leaked out to the public? How will Heero and Relena cover this mess now? Stay tune for more!

AnimeSiren - Thanks for all of your reviews. I'm glad you're enjoying the story. 


	4. Declaration

Hello...I'm back finally...sorry about the long wait, but it's finally finished! Disclaimers: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. 

Declaration

A day passed with Relena looking at the newspapers to see if anything leaked out from the bakery fiasco on that early Saturday morning. _So far, so good_. She thought she was in the clear, but when she saw Treize's paper on her executive desk, her face turned pale white. Her picture was on the center page with the picture of her hand covered with Wufei's arsenal of flour and chocolate, but the ring was there as broad as daylight. It jutted out of her hand, yet the single diamond solitaire glistened with the chocolate mess.

She fell into her seat and placed her hands on her forehead, she could already feel a headache coming on and before long, the first phone call rang in her office. _Damage control...think Relena_...the rings started to drive her crazy and after seven of them, she picked up the phone. "Hello, Relena Peacecraft speaking..." with agitation in her voice.

"Did you see the morning the paper yet?"

"Yes, Quatre, I did." A sigh of relief escaped from her lips.

"And what did I tell you." Pride filled his voice on the other end.

"Never mind that right now...we have bigger problems to deal with. The media will be on this soon if not already," she rummaged through her drawers to find a bottle of aspirin.

"Ummm...I think you should look out your window right now." He managed to drive through the row of news vans with reporters setting up their telecasts.

She did what she was told and to her amazement, she saw a row of reporters already lined up to get a possible glimpse of the newly engaged ambassador. She immediately closed her blinds and went back to her desk. "Where are you now?"

"Close to the back gates, I'm pretty sure I saw the other staffers as I was pulling up." He pulled his keys from the ignition and quickly entered the barrage of reporters with his cell phone still in his hand.

Relena could hear the reporters screaming out their questions in all directions. She heard some muffled replies coming from him along the lines of "no comment." "Did you see Heero yet?"

"No not yet," he entered through the first set of doors. "I'm on my way to your office." He closed the connection and in five minutes, he was there in one piece with a dazed look on his face. "I've never seen a feeding frenzy like this before." He went over to a small stand and poured himself a glass of water. "If it took me fifteen minutes to get through all of that out there, it's going to be rough for the others." He gulped all of his water practically in one swallow, "How did you get here so fast?"

"I arrived here at six," she got up from her seat and sat on her desk, "there was practically no one here."

He saw her play with the ring on her left hand. "So when did he ask you?"

"Two years ago after my birthday celebration on the premises."

"And you hid this from all of us for these two years?" a shocked look came on his face.

"Yup." She felt the two years of keeping the secret bottled up was worthwhile and thrilling at the same time. "It was hard to keep a straight face at times..." she smiled and went back to work.

Quatre picked up Treize's paper and read the article, "Did you know they want an inside scoop from you?"

Her ears perked up, "What?"

"There's a little declaration right here," he pointed to the small paragraph under the main article.

"When will it all end?" She felt her headache intensify.

Outside on the embassy's grounds, Riley and Aidan arrived hand in hand with Aidan being more boisterous about his employer. Riley tried to coax him out from revealing inner secrets about Relena by elbowing him in his stomach. "You're just inflating the situation."

"So," he continued to speak with several reporters. "By tonight, we'll be somewhat famous," he grinned.

She was getting fed up with his antics and with a sudden move, she pulled on his ear and yanked him from the press. "You're so arrogant!" she stammered. She went through the doors and let the heavy object slam onto his foot.

"Why did you do that for?" He hopped on his right foot, while trying to tend to his other.

"Ohh, the nerve of you..." She quickly left his side and walked to her mini office in front of Relena's.

Meanwhile, Aidan still hoped on one foot for awhile by the door and saw Trowa enter. "Don't tell me you saw all of that?"

"Indeed I did." The limo driver stared down Aidan. "You should be ashamed of yourself." He left the runner to think back on his actions, while he himself wandered throughout the embassy grounds, trying to access the situation of a possible get away for Relena. He peeked out one of the glass windows that showed the back entrance already being blocked. His green eyes scanned the view and he saw Heero surrounded by a swarm of reporters with their flashes.

"Are you the potential fiancé to the ambassador as "The Herald" claims?" A female reporter shouted out amongst the group.

Heero pushed his way forward ignoring the questions and gave them his death glare trying to back a couple of reporters away.

Another voice popped into the picture, "Will you do an 'inside scoop' for the "The Herald" that has been declared by Treize Krusheneda?"

"No comment," he murmured. He saw that the back door was in his reach, but the swarm of reporters kept him from getting there. His back was towards the door, but he felt someone yank him in.

"It seems like you're a celebrity around here," Trowa quickly shut the door. He saw the death glare that Heero was giving and immediately changed the subject. "Relena's in her office along with Quatre...I just passed there a couple of minutes ago." He saw the bodyguard bolt up the stairs in no time. _It looks like I'm going to lose my bet to Quatre after all_.

Heero saw the congregation and ran through the various scenarios that could be played out to diffuse the situation, but none of them seemed to work out too well. But, one thing was for sure that no matter what he tried to do, a bunch of reporters were seen in every scenario.

Quatre brought him out of his nightmare, "Well congratulations, Heero."

"Thanks." He returned to the current situation. "What do you want to do, Relena?"

"I'm not too sure myself, everything just blew up in front of us. Treize sure has us in a bind...he's been digging up dirt these past two years and it seems like he's finally hit the jackpot." She began to pace in her office and realized that there was only one thing that they could possibly do. "Quatre told me about Treize's declaration for an inside scoop on our story. Do you want to do that?"

A plan started to run through his nerves and a small evil flash crossed his eyes for a brief a second, "I think it'll work."

"What are you thinking, Heero? I saw something clicked in that mind of yours." Relena looked in on her fiancé, never did before did she see him smirk.

"We'll have the inside scoop only reserved for Treize and Lady Une...but, it'll be on our terms. Disclose that to the reporters now."

"You sure about that?" Quatre looked up from his seat.

"I'm sure...safety won't be compromised here. The reporters are just looking for their answers."

"All right then, it's settled." She quickly left the room and headed down to where the congregation of reporters were situated at. She viewed through a window and saw the magnitude of the crowd. "Here goes nothing...damage control." She pushed the heavy doors open and before here, flashes popped in a matter of seconds with reporters aiming their microphones to the ambassador. "As for Treize's declaration in today's newspaper, I will disclose the information only to him, but on my terms only and that's that." She turned away from the massive group, as reporters shouted out their questions in rapid fire succession in hopes of Relena leaking out some vital information on her fiancé. _I sure hope Heero knows what he's doing_.

The rest of the day went on without any other abnormal incidents minus the fact that the phone lines rang off the hook every hour, in which Quatre still manned somehow with about twenty pairs of ear plugs by his desk. By early evening, mostly everything died down, but the news of Relena's potential engagement was sounding off in every possible news channel, as everyone wished her the best. They even showed her response to Treize's declaration in his paper for her to disclose some details about her engagement.

"It seems like your declaration worked," Une smiled down on her boss.

"For now it has," he stared at the screen, "and now we wait for her phone call."

TBC


	5. Mission: Sabotage

Standard disclaimers apply. 

Mission: Sabotage

Heero hid his identity under a denim blazer and dark glasses. After the bakery nightmare, he couldn't go in public looking like Relena's bodyguard, since with every step he took, a couple of citizens would ask questions about him and her. He eyed the familiar sign of the bakery and remembered how it started with Relena wanting a breakfast for her staff members. He entered the familiar door and saw Duo placing more donuts into the display cases.

The cheery baker looked up and noticed the customer standing near the far off display cases filled with small cakes and pictures of wedding cakes. "So you're back again."

"What's it to you?" He continued to stare into the display case filled with tasty cookies and small cakes.

"Nice shades you have there...it looks like under ops or something."

"Funny." He tried to make the conversation short. "I need a favor from you."

"Ask away," he fidgeted with one of the signs on the wall.

"I need to use your bakery one of these days."

"I don't see why not," he rubbed his chin, "Wufei took off this week leaving me to run the place," he smiled.

_Better make sure there's no structural damage_. "How does Wednesday night sound to you?"

"Sounds all right, I need to stay a little late that night anyhow...someone ordered three dozen chocolate chip cookies."

"I see." He looked at his watch and noted that phase two was about to begin on Relena's side.

"Does this have to do with Treize's declaration about you two being engaged?"

"Yes, it's more or less called payback."

"Ah. Well let me know if I can be of service in this mission of yours," he went to the opposite part of the bakery and started to wipe down the windows, since business was slow during the mid-afternoon.

Heero thought about it and his plan seemed to be changing every minute, "You might be able too." He looked at the pictures of the wedding cakes and saw something there. "Do you think you can create that white three-tiered cake by Wednesday night? I'll reimburse you for it."

"I think I could," Duo brought up a small black catalogue with numerous scribbles already made. "It looks like May and June are packed with weddings." He sounded like he was giving Heero a hint on how to schedule wedding dates. "Nope, I'm not book for this week...everything's a go for the cake."

"Good. I'll see you Wednesday night." He walked out of the bakery and tried to blend in with the rest of the people strolling down the streets. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number linking to Relena's office, "Commence phase two."

"All right, I'm on it." She shuffled some papers in her hands, while she cradled the receiver in her neck and shoulders.

"Don't be alarm to see a wedding cake on Wednesday night, it's going to be a white three-tiered cake." He waited a response from her.

"You didn't have to go all out on this, you know that."

"I know, but we're dealing with Treize and possibly Lady Une here. I don't want to take any chances."

"Very well then," she heard him close the connection down and she dialed Treize's work number that Quatre dug up. She heard the rings go by on the other line and she adjusted her skirt while she waited.

"Hello, Treize speaking," a deep masculine voice sounded on the other end.

"Hello, Treize, Relena Peacecraft here. I was just wondering if you would like your inside scoop to be held this Wednesday evening at Nataku's and Maxwell's Bakery? I'm sure you're familiar with the place by now." A hint of sarcasm was in her voice as she toyed with him in trying to lure him into the trap. "How about seven thirty?"

"Sounds fine." He entered the time and location onto his palm pilot with a little urgent icon, so he wouldn't miss the important appointment. "Will Heero Yuy be there as well?"

"What kind of person do you think I am? Of course, he'll be there...he's part of my security detail." She tried to elude the man on the other end.

"Not your fiancé?" He toyed with the question in his mind.

She brushed him off, "Save those questions for Wednesday evening, Mr. Krushenada."

"Very well then, I'll look forward to our interview." He looked towards Une, who sat quietly at her office desk with a receiver in her hands, spying in on their conversation.

"Good day." She closed the connection and prepared herself for their likely meeting in the bakery.

"It seems like they took the bait," replied Une, who dropped the receiver back into its holder. "That declaration of yours worked perfectly."

"Ah yes, but we'll see how Wednesday evening plays out." He had a pensive look on his face with his brow slightly furrowed. He was at a lost for words as to why the bakery was their meeting's location and not the embassy.

"Maybe she wants to show you their possible selections for their wedding cake," Une's voice brought him out of his train of thought.

"Could be."

88888

Wednesday night rolled around and Duo added the final touches to Heero's false wedding cake. He pulled a package of pastel candy flowers from a cabinet and clustered the blush colored flowers around the rim of the bottom layer. He shifted his focus to the middle and top layers. "He should be happy with this...it's my masterpiece." He wheeled the cake into the corner of the kitchen and cleaned up for the night.

The bells on the front door jingled announcing an arrival for his seven thirty appointment. Duo rushed out to the front and saw Heero and Relena stand in the middle of the room right under the cupcake shaped chandelier. "Right on time."

"Is everything set?" Heero looked to see if Treize and Lady Une were in the vicinity.

"The cake's finished...it's in the back right now." He spun around and entered through the kitchen's door. In minutes, he wheeled the metal cart with the three-layered wedding cake. "Is this okay?"

Relena stood in awe to see the cake for the first time. "It's beautiful." She knew she had to get the shock over quickly because she didn't want Treize or Lady Une to get a clue that their wedding plans haven't even been finalized yet.

"Well I'll leave the two of you alone then," before he left Hilde entered through the front door with Chip. "Hey babe, what are you doing here?" He looked at his watch and figured that she would be home at this hour.

"I was just in the city and thought I would stop by." She greeted Relena and Heero. "Am I interrupting something?" She looked over the setup that Duo created and saw the wedding cake on the cart. Her mind did the rest in connecting the puzzle and her blue eyes honed in onto Relena's left hand and saw the jewel shimmer slightly under the light. "You're...engaged...I thought the rumors were false." A shocked look glazed over her face.

"Guilty as charged," she smiled to herself.

"And who is the lucky fellow?" Her eyes widened with curiosity.

"Yes, do tell us who is this lucky fellow..." Treize appeared out of thin air with Lady Une walking in back of him. He held his small legal pad in his hands ready to take shorthand notes, while he signaled to Une to start the recording her mini cassette player.

Sweat drops started to line on her forehead, "Well you're looking right at him." Everyone turned their eyes to the stoic bodyguard, even Duo blinked a couple of times and played along with the game that Heero was playing. "That's right...you all can gasp as much as you want."

"How did you keep this under wraps for these two years?" his eyes held an investigative look.

"Simple...we chose not to disclose our plans to the public. I don't want reporters chasing after me all the time." She looked straight into his eyes. "And with Heero there, it was easy to have reporters become disillusioned."

"Point taken," he jotted a couple of more notes down onto his pad. "And what do you have to say, Heero?" his eyes darted to the bodyguard in the corner.

"Nothing...it's a private matter." He folded his arms around his chest and narrowed his eyes in trying to shrink Treize's ego down.

"A man of few words...I like that." He set his focus back onto Relena, and he was about to say something, but his attention diverted to the cake. "So tell me, who was the one that actually chose the cake?"

"It was a joint decision," Relena quickly interjected telling him a little white lie.

"I see." His eyes flickered at the response and noticed something didn't add up. Heero's keen eyes also noticed a change in Treize's assault of questions. "So tell me, Heero, is the cake chocolate or vanilla?"

Good thing he examined the details from Duo's mini presentation, "Vanilla," he placed his hands in the back pocket and waited for the next question. "You don't really trust us, do you?"

"I'm just trying to get the facts...that's all. The citizens have the right to know." He scribbled the mini conversation onto his pad...the lead could be heard scratching onto the thin paper. "When is your wedding by the way?"

The blood on their faces quickly drained and they knew they were stuck. Duo realized the situation and took Chip from Hilde's protective arms. He placed the little toddler on the floor and the boy started to crawl towards the two newcomers.

"Chip, don't you want your chocolate sauce?" Duo tapped the red plastic bowl on the floor and the boy quickly crawled towards the sound.

The boy giggled out loud and pushed the light bowl towards the newcomers again. "Cho-cola-te."

Une seemed amused for awhile and watched the boy lick the chocolate sauce. She looked towards Treize as if she wanted to have some children of her own and knew her biological clock was ticking. She scooped the boy in her arms and walked over to Treize along with the tape recorder that now dangled precociously on a thin wire from her wrist.

"So when is your wedding?" Treize pressed the matter even more and knew that the boy was a distraction to gather their thoughts.

Chip saw the man ahead of him and scrunched up his face, he didn't like it that the man wasn't paying any attention to him. His violet eyes saw something sparkle against the woman's wrist and made an attempt to grab the object. He started to wail and pointed to the small electronic device and Une quickly raised her left wrist to the boy's eye level. A small ohh escaped from his lips. He grabbed the object with his sticky fingers and started to fidget the numerous complex buttons on it.

"You shouldn't do that," she yanked the machine from the boy's tiny hands.

"What now?" Treize turned around unaware what had just occurred until he saw the mini tape spill out of it's tiny compartment. "The tape!"

"It was an accident, Treize," she put the boy down on the floor before Treize could react fully, since he was running on a deadline. "We have the info that we need and we should leave now."

"No we don't...they're still evading the issue. Something doesn't add up here and I'm going to find out if it's the last thing that I..."

A sound escaped from the kitchen as everyone was caught off guard. Before they knew it, the Asian baker appeared on the scene, "What's this?" Fire shown in his black eyes and knew that he couldn't trust his partner any longer.

"Hi there, Wu-man." Duo placed his hand on the back of his head, trying to lighten his mood, but was met with a spray of whip cream. He coughed the light substance from his mouth and knew this wasn't a good sign again.

"Get out!" He started firing at random and saw the little tot on the floor.

"Oh no you don't," Hilde picked a handful of the wedding cake and aimed it at the crazy baker. She raced over to her son's side and picked him up, evading the wrath of the mad baker. She instinctly ran to the kitchen and got out of the bakery.

"Damn woman! Your son has caused me this much grief!" He wiped away the white frosting from his eyes and eyed his next two targets...the pesky reporters. "You know...you reporters have some nerve to keep coming back here...you're starting to get on my nerves all of you."

Une noticed that he was gunning Treize due to the notepad in his hands, "Treize the notes!" She lunged towards him and pushed her boss away from the oncoming slew of chocolate sauce. She felt the sticky substance on her back and a laugh escaped her lips...she couldn't remember the last time she actually had a good laugh. Treize was taken aback from the sound coming from her and never really heard her laugh at all. "How are the notes?" She pulled herself off of him.

"They didn't survive," he pulled the pad from him and saw the lead was already smeared with chocolate. "Oh well." He threw it aside and tried to get up from the slippery floor. He got his footing and helped Une off her feet. The two noticed that Wufei was rearming his stock of pastry bags, "I think that's our cue to leave."

"You better leave or else...feel the wrath of strawberry jam now...muhahaha!"

With that cackle from Wufei, the two quickly disappeared into the city streets and never looked back. And now, the crazy baker shifted his attention to the remainder of his victims in the bakery. "Oh look now...the tables have turned," he smirked and held a pastry bag to the small group in front of him.

"What are you on, man? You've been whacked lately." Duo tried to grab one of the empty pastry bags on the ground. "Did you get bit by a rabid dog?"

"Funny...enough chit chat...it's time to settle the score."

Relena had enough of these two bickering entrepreneurs and looked for Heero's and hers mock wedding cake.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to stop this before this gets more worse between the two." She pulled away from Heero and slipped around the counter and found her target. She moved the cart into position and grabbed a fistful of cake in her hands. "Three can also be in this game," she hurled the ball of cake towards the mad bakers.

"Now who did that?" Wufei wiped a splotch of white frosting from his face. As for Duo, he looked in amazement that Relena threw the cake, he wouldn't have taken her to be a regular bystander at all from now on. Instead a thought passed through his mind, _I betterstay clear from her when's mad_.

"It was me...nitwit." She rearmed her hand with more cake.

"She got you there, Wu-man." A laugh escaped from him.

"A nitwit..." a stunned look came across the mad baker. "Who do you think you are WOMAN?"

"For your information, I'm just a regular customer that keeps coming here! And all I'm greeted with chocolate sauce and flour." She held her hand with confidence and prepared to launch another fistful of cake, "I'm not afraid to launch more of this cake! By the looks of it, you're about to run out of chocolate."

"Heh, that's what you think." He was about to reload his pastry bag when she threw the cake ball close to his hand.

"Shouldn't you two draw a truce instead?"

"Not until I give one last fight," he made one last battle cry.

Relena placed her free hand on her forehead, "When will these two grow up?"

"I think they never will," replied Heero. He grabbed a fistful of cake himself and threw it at the two warring bakers. "It looks like four can get into this game now."

By that time, all four of them were in an all out dodge ball of cake and chocolate sauces. Relena hid behind one of the glass displays that had an array of sauces on it caked with flour. She peeked up only to see a scene of chaos with Duo trying to stop the mad baker, but he was met with a floury demise. Wufei turned around and saw Relena's location.

"Where's Heero? Not here to protect you...eh?" He was about to squirt chocolate sauce at her, but she still held a fistful of cake. A splotch landed on his eyes again and she quickly ran to the corner. "It looks like I cornered you finally...muhahaha!"

"Guess again, Wufei." Heero stood behind him armed with a bag full of strawberry jam, "Revenge is so sweet."

The two went head to head in an all out assault of sauces. It looked like Heero had the upper hand, but then when he was about to reach for his secret cache of flour, he noticed it was missing from his back pocket.

"Looking for this?" He swung a bag full of flour. "Goodbye, Heero."

"Heero look out," Relena ran to his side and pushed him out of the way from the barrage of chocolate. The two landed on the ground with a thud.

"Shouldn't I be protecting you instead?" He wiped some of the chocolate off her back.

"Yeah...but it seems tables have been turned," she wiped a couple of stray hairs from her face. "I never had this much fun before," a chuckle escaped from her lips.

The two got up from the floor and found Duo behind a glass case. Before long, the three formed a new alliance and saw Wufei trying to reload his arsenal with more pastry bags. Duo moved the remnants of the cake into place, while Heero managed to corner Wufei. The three then grabbed fistful of cake into their hands, forcing Wufei to surrender.

"What do you say now...how about a truce? By the looks of it, we can pummel you with cake for the next ten minutes." Relena was about to launch the cake ball from her hands.

"All right, all right! I give in," a stubborn Wufei placed his hands in the air.

Outside the bakery, onlookers gathered at the front windows and all of them shouted for joy when the last final war finally ended. Duo came out to greet their fans and offered free goodies on the house, as a quick diversion to let Heero and Relena pass through the backdoors. Even Wufei went out with boxes full of donuts, cookies, and cupcakes.

"See it's not painful to surrender, isn't it Wu-fie?" He gave a cookie to one of the onlookers.

"Don't you ever call me that again!" he scowled.

Hilde emerged with Chip in her hands a moment later and saw the two men covered from head to toe, "It looks like the final war is over."

"Sure is, he finally surrendered."

"Good and now you two won't mind if I take Chip home. I'll see you later," she teased him with a kiss.

Back at the Herald, Treize and Une looked at the mess they were in. "It looks like this night was a disaster," Une was trying to get a stain out from her white silk blouse.

"Well not quite," Treize went over to her, "the notes are still somewhat legible and we do know that Relena is engaged to Heero."

"True." All of sudden, she grabbed the notes from him and tore them to little pieces.

"Why did you do that for?" He quickly gathered the sticky confetti.

"I think it's time we stop chasing a story and let them have their privacy." An image of Chip's eyes was embedded in her mind...she wanted a family of her own. "Let's get out of this business and move on." Her eyes held a sincere look in them for once and a softness he hadn't seen for a long while.

"All right then, let's start now." The move took her by surprise, figuring he wasn't the one to stop working.

The two left their resignation letters in their office and immediately called one of their copy editors to run the paper. But before their departure, Treize drafted one more article and gave it to Une for final approval, since it was short notice for the others. He concealed it in an envelope and slated it for press release in the morning's paper.

"That should do it. Let's go now." He led her out the door with both of their belongings in a cardboard box.

TBC


	6. Wedding Fiasco

You know the drill...standard disclaimers apply...well enjoy! 

Wedding Fiasco

"Would look at that?" Relena placed a copy of "The Herald" down on her desk and smiled contently to herself. Treize and Une had the heart not to disclose the whole entire story after all. Instead, the reporters placed a small announcement that they were leaving the journalism field and settle for a more private life. But still, her phone rang off the hook every so often just to see if Heero and her were actually engaged or not. To them, it'll be for them to find out.

"I told you everything will work out," Heero emerged from the hallway.

"What happens if it didn't?" She read a few files on her desk, trying to concentrate on more pursing matters with foreign nations on energy usage and trade. She noticed a shadow had fallen over her paperwork and Heero had managed to steal a kiss from her.

"Um...Relena...what should we do about the upcoming commerce meeting?" Quatre froze in his steps, noticing that he was interrupting the young lovers. "Never mind, I'll get back to you on that." He quickly stepped out of her office and closed the doors on his way out. "When will they ever get married?" He walked out towards his office and noticed the uni-bang limo driver sitting down at a small table, trying to catch up on the morning news. "Ah, the person I was just looking for. Fork it over, Trowa...you lost the bet."

"No need to rush yet, they haven't had the ceremony yet," he stared at the articles in front of him.

"A deal is a deal," the blonde persisted.

"We'll see...patience is a virtue."

3 months later

"T minus 30 minutes till the ceremony," Duo looked at his watched and synchronized it with the church's own time. He adjusted his tie in front of the mirror and noticed Heero pale as a ghost. "Don't sweat it, you'll be fine."

"Hn." He tugged at his own tuxedo. "I hate penguin suits."

"Now, now..." he slapped the groom on his shoulders. "It'll go by quick." The door to their room opened and Chip came barreling in with his own little tux. "Where have you been?" The boy pointed to Hilde, who was standing in the doorway in her light green bridesmaid dress.

"He was giving me such a hard time, I think the terrible twos have finally kicked in. You both be good now. And Heero, if they're both giving you a hard time, just come and get me." She closed the door after herself.

"Where's Quatre?" Heero was beginning to feel more anxious, "He's supposed to have the rings ready."

"I'm right here," he called from the door and carried a pillow in his arms. "It's hard trying find a small enough pillow for Chip to carry." The blonde knelt down to the little boy, "You remembered what to do now?"

"Yes, Quatre," and he even nodded in response.

"Don't pull that string, that's all."

The boy looked up wide-eyed and innocent, "Why?"

"I just said so," he didn't want to scare the child into thinking that he was the ring bearer. "You have a very important job," he smiled back and watched the boy go ooh and ahh for a minute.

Duo picked up his son and swung him the air just help pass the time. "You better be on your best behavior now. Scout's honor?"

"Scout's honor!" He chimed in, but his eyes held a wicked look.

88888

Everything was going smoothly as can be...Heero took his position in front of the small crowd. Behind the doors, Relena focused in front of her and noticed Chip fidgeting the cumbersome pillow. "It'll be over soon, I promise."

"Are you sure?" The chibi version of Duo looked up at her with his violet eyes.

"I'm sure." The blushing bride smiled back. "You better take your place." The doors finally opened and Chip looked at the massive sight in front of him. To him, the walk was longer than expected and he began his long trek.

Hilde watched him from Relena's side, anxious to see if Chip performed the task, "He's almost there." Chip looked at the small crowd and continued to walk with the pillow over his hands. His eyes beamed when he crossed more than three-fourths of the long walk. By then, his cocky attitude came around and it got the best of him. His foot snagged on a loose portion of the white fabric and he went face down. All eyes turned to the boy and he quickly got up...his face red as a cherry.

"I'm all right," he chirped and grabbed the pillow. He resumed his position like a little soldier and skid addled towards his father's side. He was met with a light tap on the head, but he knew that Duo forgave him, but his eyes wandered over to Heero, who looked like he was going to explode if anything else happened. The boy cowered his head back down and looked at the pillow instead. There was something missing he said to himself and he couldn't remember what. The bride march began to play and it confused him more. He lifted one of the loose ribbons and saw the ends were unattached. "Uh oh," he whispered. He shook his father's pants, "Daddy, I think there's something wrong."

"Not now, Chip, Relena is about to start walking." He tried to hush his son without making a scene in front of a hundred pairs of eyes.

"But, Daddy...the rings..." he persisted on, but seeing that his dad wasn't going to listen, he did the unthinkable. "Stop the wedding!" he screamed. All eyes turned on him for the second time in the ceremony. "The rings are missing! I need to find the rings." Relena was halfway down the aisle and came to the boy's rescue. "I'm sorry I lost the rings," the boy began to whimper.

"It's all right, I'll help you find them," she coaxed the child to stop crying and she knelt down to where Chip had originally fallen. By then, Heero walked over and helped his bride-to-be in their needle in the haystack search for the elusive platinum rings. The ivory fabric made it nearly impossible to crawl any farther and so she tucked it in front of her as much as it would allow her to. "Do you think they rolled this way, Chip?" She tried to engage him in a conversation, letting him know that he wasn't a failure.

"Maybe," he meekly said. He paddled around the first few pews, where everyone was hunched over in their seats looking for the rings.

"Now everyone, don't panic," Duo shouted from the front, "Just a minor technical problem that I'm sure will end soon," he tried to entertain the crowd.

"Any luck, Heero?" Relena still crouched on the floor to find their wedding bands.

"Remind me not to have any kids," he grunted and went on his way of finding the rings.

"You're just joking, I think you're great with him."

"Hn."

Chip continued to search and felt his shoelaces were coming undone. "Perfect timing," he huffed. His small timid hands laced his shoes up and to his amazement, the rings were right next to him. "I found them! There over here!"

"See, Chip saved the day," Relena lifted the ring bearer off the floor and carried him to the altar with Heero next to him. He passed by Duo, "One more mishap, I'll be the one to cut his braid off."

"You wished," he winked and patted the nervous groom on the back.

The ceremony proceeded without anymore mishaps and when it time for the bride and groom to kiss, Chip stood nervously off to the side. "Ewww...gross!" and covered his eyes with the pillow. Everyone in the crowd laughed, but they were glad that Relena and Heero finally tied the knot.

"So much for a 'normal' wedding," Relena held her arms around his neck, but she was beaming with joy.

"Let's just hope we don't have a kid like Chip," and kissed her again.

"Why not?" She pushed away slightly.

"I said so."

"Well see," she teased him. The two ran down the aisle with a shower of rice and rose petals.

88888

The reception was low key with only the closet relatives and friends there. Relena sat at the corner table with her puffed white wedding gown surrounding her. She didn't see her brother at the ceremony and figured he hated Heero that much, but she wished he had attended.

"There you are, Relena," Noin came rushing over, a little frazzled with a baby bag draped over her shoulders. "Traffic was terrible and little Jay was giving us fits."

"Where's Zechs?" The bride looked behind her sister-in-law.

"He's somewhere back there with the baby." Noin dropped the items on the vacant seats, "Well congratulations!"

"Thank you," she kissed her on the cheek. Right then, Zechs and Jay had arrived to the mini gathering. "And how is my big brother handling fatherhood?"

"Quite well actually," he cradled the boy in his arms. "Where is Heero by the way?"

"Somewhere with Duo and Quatre, I suppose." The bride tried to look out among the guests.

"I'll find him," he let Relena cradle his son, while he went out to hunt down Heero. He found the groom at the bar sitting among his groomsmen and tapped him on the shoulders, "Heero," his voice was cold.

"Zechs," he didn't look up from his glass.

"You better not hurt her or else, I'll hunt you down." he gritted his teeth. By then, the gathering around Heero dispersed for fear of their lives.

"I hear you." He heard his brother-in-law walk away, "Glad you came too," and finished his glass. He walked back to Relena and grabbed her by the waist, and watched Zechs' reaction of pure rage boiling inside. "Enjoying the party?" He teased her on the lips.

"Sure am." She smiled back towards him. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Zechs flinch slightly. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing, just nothing," he clenched his fists and walked away.

"Did he have a talk with you?" She looked Heero directly in the eyes, and lifted her eyebrows.

"Let's just say it's a little payback."

"Why do I have a strange feeling this in-law rivalry between the two won't end for some time?"

"Hn." A light flickered in his eyes.

"I'm all game."

Back at the bar, Quatre and Trowa were just soaking in the view. "Well where's my money?" The blonde persisted still.

Trowa shook his head and pulled out his wallet from his tuxedo pocket. "Easy and come go," he sighed. He handed the bills to Quatre, who showed an air of victory. "You and your predictions of the future," he scoffed.

"It was fair and square," he smiled back. "It was nice doing business with you."

"Sure whatever," the green-eyed driver reached for the newspapers and took his usual solitude in peace, but with the dance music blasting in the background.

"This is such a boring party right now," Wufei blankly stared at the sight before him.

"What is it Wu-fy, down in the dumps that Sally couldn't make it?" Duo was up to his antics again.

"None of your business," the Asian looked at the cake Duo and him labored over for the past three weeks.

"Ah I get it, you're feeling lonesome," the crazy baker winked.

"Enough with love."

"Cupid will strike at you soon, no worries there," he patted him on the back. "And now if you'll excuse me, I need to catch Chip before he goes ape about the cake." He saw his son eyeball the demon size mountain of sweetness and decided to sneak up on the innocent soul. "Now Chip, what did I tell you?"

"Not to touch it," he faced his dad.

"Right...now go play with some of the other kids around here." He saw Hilde having a light conversation with the bride, "Would you like to dance?"

"It took you long enough," she smiled back. Duo swept his wife off her feet and started to the tango, even though it wasn't the right music.

"And would Mrs. Yuy care to dance?" He offered his hand over to her and she gracefully accepted.

She leaned her head over his shoulder and closed her eyes, "Some wedding," she felt exhausted by now. He kept leading her in the slow waltz, and the two enjoyed the peace they were having right now.

Chip meandered through the couples on the dance floor, looking for anyone close to his own age to play with. "Oh look there's the ring boy," called out one of the tiny guests, dressed with a red bow tie hanging around his neck. "You're not going to fall down again and cry for your daddy?" He laughed.

The violet-eyed child got on the defensive and ran towards the boy. "Take it back!" The two ended up on a chasing spree, winding around tables and nearly knocking a waiter off his feet. The guests didn't realize anything out of the ordinary figuring it was child's play, since it had been a long day to begin with. The two veered around the corner of the bride's and groom's table without noticing that a waiter was pulling out the cake in front of them. Chip pushed the older toddler in front of him and they both rammed into the cart. Both of their eyes widen as they saw the sugary tower quiver from the impact. "Uh oh," he whispered and ran out of the way. The white-tiered cake landed on the floor over Chip's teaser and he was doused from head to toe. All heads turned towards the sight and it wasn't pretty.

Heero and Relena looked towards their cake and knew it spelled disaster. "Chip!" He screamed.

"Where are you going?" She tried to pull him back.

"There's something I should have done a long time ago," he went over to their table and pulled out a small bag underneath.

"You're not going to shoot him, Yuy!" She tried to grab the bag away from him.

"No." He continued to look through it and brought out a pair of scissors instead. In less than a minute, Heero towered over the tiny tot and in a split second, the eight inch braid fell to the floor. "There much better." All eyes turned on him and a couple of them were shocked at what he just did.

"Heero you didn't," Duo scoffed and in horror that his son's chestnut hair was on the floor.

Wufei looked up from his seat to see what the commotion was all about, "Now this is interesting," he listened in on the conversation.

"At least someone had some sense in cutting it," Hilde smiled.

"Whose side are you on anyway?" Duo turned to his wife.

"I think it was time for Chip to have a normal haircut." She bent down to pick up their son, who was feeling the back of his head. "It's all right, dear. Uncle Yuy was a little careless with his scissors." The boy didn't seem to mind the new hairdo, but his father was furious.

Duo knelt down and picked up a fistful of cake, "This means war, Yuy."

"Oh no, not Maxwell now," Relena pulled her hands over her face. "First Wufei and now him."

"You know I have waited a long time to cut that braid off," he was met with a cake ball.

"I would be careful what you say," Duo hurled another snowball of the gooey mess and somehow everyone decided to join in on this fight. He saw Relena try to duck away, "And this one is for the bride!"

"No you don't," Heero splattered the crazed father with more cake, but he saw his friend launch the white filling towards Relena. "Duck!" His warning came a second too late.

The filling landed on its target, hitting her on the back of her dress. She had the last straw, "This means war!" And with that, the bride had finally taken her place in this food fight and along with the guests. In less than twenty minutes, both sides were out of cake and for some weird reason, Relena began to laugh and realized the scene in front of her. She glanced towards Heero, whose face was spattered with white frosting and he just stood dumbfounded. She then glanced over to Duo and the others, "I hope you all realize we just had another cake fight."

Duo sheepishly tried to remove the cakey mess from his hands, but sidestepped towards Hilde and Chip, who were covered in the wedding cake he made. "Let's just say it's a party that people will remember." He kissed Hilde on her cheek, "I officially retire from this baking business. I should have started the scarp yard idea before doing this."

"Maybe you should have. The idea doesn't sound too bad at all actually," she pondered for a moment, "I can leave my desk job at the travel agency...business has been slow." Her eyes hinted at something.

"Well all right, you can be my secretary," he winked.

Quatre looked at himself, "Why do I always end up in the wrong place?"

Trowa blankly stated, "You're a jinx that's why."

"Funny..." The blonde sauntered off to the exit along with some of the guests.

Wufei quietly exited and smiled to himself, "I knew he would crack."

"Why are you beaming?" asked Trowa, who was still suspicious of the baker.

"It looks like I got the whole business to myself."

The bride and groom were left to themselves on an empty dance floor. She used her index finger to wipe away some of the frosting from Heero's face, "Remind me to thank Chip one day when he's older." The two slow-danced without any music playing, but were alerted to a sound coming from a closet.

"Aidan! You're such a jerk!" Riley stomped out of the closet with cake splattered on her asymmetrical lime green dress.

"What!" He followed after her towards the exit. "Give me a break, Riley, please."

His gaze returned to his wife, "Sure..." He eyeballed the not-so-innocent monster from the corner of his eye and saw the Maxwells leave.

The End

Thanks for reading!


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